The Magick Glen
by Lady-Tybaltia
Summary: A story about a girl who has an unfortunate run-in the the mischievous wood fairies


April.11,2002 The Magick Glen  
By: Ethlôwen  
  
Most of my life we lived in our house. Pa bought a new one before the war. He said we would move after the war, we'd start anew. That was until he died. Mama refused to tell me how, but I found out when some soldiers came to pay their respects to Ma.  
  
"It is tragic, how it happened. Where you told?" A tall black haired boy had asked her.  
  
"No." She said quietly. Ma was always brave, especially now.  
  
"C'mon Chris, don't be tell'n her. She's had enough pain as tis'." The other one said. He was middle height, and thin, with blond hair and a Newfoundland accent.  
  
"It is fine. I wish to know." Ma's voice quavered. I bit my lip. Poor Mama.  
  
"Very well. We were sent to the border of the USA." Chris began hesitantly. "They stationed us right in our front line, right by the cannons. I was scared, and I didn't want to go. 'Chris' he says to me, 'There ain't no honor in run'n, only in fight'n." He choked at the memory, paused, and continued. "He grabbed my hand, then Alexander's," he nodded to his blond companion. "He lifted us onto our feet in full view of the enemy, then he let go of our hands, drew his gun, and yelling your name and your little un's name, he charged forward. A large sound went up, like thunder, We were knocked off our feet. I lay there, think'n I was dead, when I felt Trevor lift me up. We went over to where we saw Jack, your husband, lay'n in the grass. There was a hole in his stomach, he, he caught the cannon ball."  
  
Ma stared forward, eyes glossy. Like a zombie. I let out a little squeak and all heads turned. Ma looked over to the chair, Pa's chair, lifted her skirts, and walked across the room. In one swift movement she caught hold of my leg and pulled me from my hiding spot. She set me on my feet and shock the dust off my yellow sun dress.  
  
"Well gentlemen, have you meet the little one who's name Jack was yelling. Our little mouse, Breanna." The soldiers nodded and smiled.  
  
"She looks like her father she does." Trevor said to Ma. "He often said she was an excellent singer, How about it Miss?" I shook my head 'no'. I would not sing. Not without Pa. Chris did not look happy.  
  
"A little one like yourself should not be burrowing under chairs and listening to things like that." I straightened up and pulled the orange ribbon on the back of my dress tighter. Puffing up my chest I replied, "I, sir, am 16 years old."  
  
"And a very mature 16 ya must be, to have your mother tugg'n you out of places like that." Trevor laughed. Ma and Chris laughed too. I stuck my nose in the air and let out a little "humph." Secretly I was smiling.  
  
"Are you done your chores?" Ma asked me.  
  
"No." I said sadly. I hated chores.  
  
"Then finish them." She spun me towards the door and shoved me forward. I trotted out of the parlor, head (and nose) held high. I heard them laughing behind me as I climbed the stairs.  
  
That had been a month ago. Now no one was laughing now. Ma decided we would move to the new house like Pa intended. It was up in a forest, high in the mountains. I had never seen it, but Pa used to tell me about it. As we loaded our horse and buggy, a couple of my friends came to help. After Pa died, most of my friends where unsure of me. They were used to wealth. Something we would no longer have much of. When Ma traded our car in for a horse and buggy (for the hard mountain terrain) all my 'friends' decided I was not worth knowing any longer. All except two.  
Maria and Cynthia. They looked on, solemn faced, as I loaded my leather suitcase into the buggy in between numerous trunks and a few small pieces of furniture. I walked up to them and we stood in silence for a few moments. Cynthia, who had always been very emotional, finally ran forward, her brown hair flying, and gave me a huge hug. Tears streamed down her checks. Maria stood staring. She never cried. Not since her brother was killed. I left Cynthia to stand and cry it out for a moment, while I walked up to Maria. She smiled, then gave me a soft hug. When she pulled away, I could see a tiny tear inching down her defined cheek bones. Choking back my own tears, I turned to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Maria said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Here." She reached into the folds of her green lace dress and pulled out a necklace. Cynthia walked up beside her. They looked like life and death themselves. Maria with her thin, pale complexion and tiny features and face, outlined in a hallo of long light blondish white hair, her green dress making her blue eye seem to jump out from her face. Cynthia was tall and skinny, with tanned skin and medium sized features. Her brown hair was shoulder length and she kept it in a tight ponytail, that made her look cute and much younger in her creamy pink dress.  
  
Maria handed me the necklace. It was a sliver locket with my initials etched into it. I opened it slowly and a song started playing. It was one the three of us used to sing. I used to sing all the time, I loved it, but not since what happened to Pa. It didn't sound the same. I cried as I looked at their pictures, bright and smiling in the oval frame. I clasped it on carefully, then hugged them both again. I climbed into the buggy and sat down on the soft leather cushions. MA climbed in beside me and took hold of the reins. I turned and waved as the buggy pulled away from our tall white house. I stayed turned, watching my friends get smaller and smaller, until they were gone. I faced forward and sat with my hands clasped on my lap, watching the land around me get wilder and freer, and the houses get farther and farther apart, until they were just farms, dotted here and there, some hours between each other. We drove up through a pass in some boulders and came out into a new world. Trees surrounded us on one side, while a clear blue lake sparkled on the other. A fox ran onto the road. It stopped for an instant and stared, glaring at me. Then it ran away into the woods. A small tinkling laugh, like a child's, followed it into the trees. It was like the fox itself had laughed at me.  
  
We rode on for a few more hours till we came to a small cliff surrounded by trees and over looking the ocean. We rode up slowly, the road wove in and out and around the numerous trees. Finally, we broke through. We came to the top of the wide cliff, out into the sun. On it sat a large farm house. It was blue and white with high wooden pillars at the door. We pulled the buggy up in front of the house and Ma jumped down. As I was climbing off a short fat women burst through the white screen door and up to the buggy. She was short and jolly, with a brownish red farm dress on and a bleached white embroidered apron. Her wiry gray hair was pulled back in a tight bun at the back of her head and she had a feather duster tucked in her belt. She approached my mother and said energetically,  
  
"Well! You've arrived! I'm Jessica. Your husband had asked me to come n' air out n' dust the house once a day till your arrival. I live in a farm house about an hour that'a way." She pointed one chubby finger towards the woods. "Well, let me help you get in and get settled! I hope ya didn't pack too many bits o' furniture, it's got all the originals already in it." She grabbed a couple suitcases and bustled back into the house. Ma giggled at the silly woman and I smiled as we pulled out the last two suitcases. We followed Jessica into the house. It was large and bright, with many windows all of which were open. The front door opened into a wide hall with a high ceiling and hard wood floor. To the left was a staircase winding up to the second floor and to the right was a doorway leading into a parlor. Jessica came back down the stairs and took the suitcases from me, then said, "Well if you'll follow me I'll give ya the grand tour." She led us through the parlor and into a kitchen with sparkling white tiles and hanging flowers in the windows. We left the kitchen through a door that lead back into the hall, then we went into a door beside it which was a large dining room. It was done in oaks and had a white swinging door to the kitchen. The back wall that put an end to the hallway held a door to the yard, and across the hall we found a library, study and a store room. Jessica then proceeded to walk us around the house's two up stairs floors. The second floor or the attic you might call it held my room and my own private bathroom. My room had a secret stairway hidden in a closet leading up to it, and the room itself had two large bay windows and was painted in blues, yellows, greens and oranges. All bright colors I loved.  
  
"Well this here is the last floor. Yer daddy decorated the house himself. It has four floors in all, including a wine cellar you'll find downstairs. The backyard has a stable n' a shed or workshop, whichever you want ta' use it fer. The yard faces the ocean too, it be a beautiful view! Be carful of climbing down that there cliff though. This house is the biggest in the area. I can only assume that you was plan'n on a big family." Ma and Jessica spoke for a bit while I unpacked my things. Ma left to unload a few more items (paintings, clocks), while Jessica stood and watched me. I went to one of the windows and got up on the cushion on my knees. I leaned out the window and let the warm summer breeze ruffle my hair.  
  
After bustling around the room a bit more, tidying up my dressers, vanity table, and bed, Jessica said, "Well I must be head'n home." I didn't say anything. I heard her start to leave, then she stopped and said,  
  
"Oh, and Miss, there's someth'n I must warn you bout'." I turned around, surprised, and stared at her, all of a sudden stern face.  
  
"Yes? What is it?"  
  
"Don't be wander'n around the woods or shore n' get'n yer self lost. The Folk would love to have a young girl to play with."  
  
"The Folk?" I asked, puzzled. She inched forward and lowered her voice to a whisper.  
  
"The Fairies." She said. "People of their realm love cause'n mischief n' steal'n things, and people. You best be careful." Then, before I could say anything, she turned and bustled out of the room. I sat there on my knees, leaning on the window sill, staring at were Jessica had been.  
  
"Fairies?" I said aloud. Then I smiled and said, "Ha! Fairies! No such thing. She just tried to scare me." But as I said it, I was not so sure. For when I had said the word 'Fairies', I could have sworn I heard the tinkling laughter again.  
  
* * * *  
  
"So," Ma said as we sat in the parlor. We had just finished dinner, and I was stretched out on the floor on my stomach reading while Ma sat embroidering on the flower upholstered couch. She had caught me off guard as I read and I dropped the book. I sat up and scrambled to find the page I was reading in "Fairies, Legends and Facts", a book I had found tucked in a dust corner of the library. It was old and worn and the pages were doggy- eared like it had been read a lot. The cover was purple leather, but it was torn and stank of mold and mildew. 'Fairies love to cause mischief for others. One of their favorite activities is tying braids into hair of animals and even sleeping people. These are called Elf Locks.'  
  
"How do you like the house?"  
  
"I love it." I replied after finding my page and sticking my nose back in it.  
  
"Did you look around out back?"  
  
"Yes. It's all very nice. We own four horses, two cows and numerous pigs and chickens, ducks and sheep. As well as kittens in the barn and a hound dog that sleeps in a little house beside the shed."  
  
"Yes but we will also have farming and more chores to be done. Jessica has agreed to work for us with no pay, and she shall be sending one of her sons to be our farm hand."  
  
"Son?" I said nervously.  
  
"Yes, a fine lad she says. You shall meet him on the morrow." I nodded and continued to read, but my attention could not be kept on my book. 'Fairies love to make their numbers grow. They do this by capturing young people and trapping them in their world. One of the ways you can become trapped is by eating or drinking anything offered by them. Another way is...' Finally I closed it and sat up, wiping the lint from the carpet off the front of my light blue dress.  
  
"Mama?" I said slowly.  
  
"Yes dear?"  
  
"Are there such things as... fairies?" She snapped her head up in surprise, dropping her needle.  
  
"Where did you hear that?"  
  
"From Jessica."  
  
"Lies! Do not believe her!" She yelled, growing furious. It startled me and I backed away, unsure.  
  
"But, why Ma? How do you know?"  
  
"I do tis all." She picked up her needle. "Now, we shall have no more talk of it, understood?" I nodded sadly. A part of me wanted to believe in them.  
  
"Yes Mama." I said quietly. She nodded and, still frowning, continued to embroider. I sat for a moment, scratching at a dent in the floor. I stood slowly and carried my book into the library. Ma stopped me half way out the parlor door and said, "Breanna, how about a song?" The suggestion stung like a bucket of ice thrown at your face. I shook my head no and went into the library. I scanned the shelves for another book, then gave up and walked out into the back yard. I stood on the wooden porch, feeling the breeze through my hair.  
  
"I think I will go see the horses." I said to myself. I lifted my dress and untied my hard boots and tight stockings. Then, folding the hem of my toe length skirt up around my waist I tied it with my sash, creating a very silly looking skirt, I ran across the soft grass, all the way to the barn. I pulled the heavy doors open and walked in slowly, being sure to light the oil lamp. I walked down the isle between the stalls, breathing in the sweet smell of hay and vegetables.  
  
At the very back of the barn stood my large brown and white mare. She was standing with her head over the stall door and gave a happy whinny as I approached. I had picked her out from the other three because of her color and good nature. I still hadn't even named her. I swung oped the stall door and threw down some new hay to walk on. Slowly, as not to startle her, I stepped up beside her and rubbed her back lightly, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turned quickly and saw nothing except the horse's tall swishing. But her tail, it was different. I took it gently in my hands and inspected it closely.  
  
Braids. Someone braided it. Tiny little braids, almost too small to see the pattern, like a bug had woven it. Baby's Breath and Wedding Bells were woven into the turrets of faerie nots. I tugged at one, trying to undo it, but I couldn't. Laughter. I walked back up to the horse's head and inspected it's mane. Also braided. I rushed out of the stall and like a lunatic, I ran from stall to stall, checking each horse. Braids. So many braids. Even the cows' tails were braided. Finally exhausted, I plopped down on a bail of hay by the door. My feet were caked with mud and manure from the stalls. I blew out the lamp and left the barn, making sure to latch the door tightly, then I went over to the side of the pond where the pump was and washed my feet in the cool water. I sat in the grass and watched the tiny goldfish dart around the lily pads. Did the fairies do it? I thought. Like it said in the book?  
  
"Breanna!" Mama called from the porch. I stood slowly, not bothering to tidy myself up, and took my time walking back to the porch. When I reached the porch Ma threw a fit at how stained my dress was and how I was wearing it. I didn't mention the braids. "And running with no shoes!" She scolded. She rushed me into the house and up the stairs. I peeled off my smelly, muddy clothes and Ma took them to the wash pile in a basket in the hall. I pulled on my long white smocked nightgown and Ma came in to brush my hair. She started to braid it swiftly into two pigtails.  
  
"Ma." I said, pulling away.  
  
"What dear?" She asked surprised.  
  
"No braids tonight, please?" I said pulling them out of my hair. I'd had enough of braids for that night.  
  
"Alright." She smiled. "You are just like me. Strange and unpredictable. But you look so much like your father." She said it smiling, but her eyes showed pain. She lifted my bed sheets and I crawled under. After tucking me in she gave me a good night kiss, then quietly left, blowing out the oil lamp as she did. I laid in bed for a bit, staring at my ceiling. Pa had painted birds all over it. Robins and Blue Jays soared through clouds as I watched. They jumped out of the roof and soared around me, diving at my head and face. I batted them away, jumping up and running to my window. When I turned to see if they followed me, they were only paint again. I gave a long sigh and plopped down onto the window seat, watching the moon reflect out on the lake. Just as I fell asleep, I thought I saw a small figure scamper across the lawn and into the tool shed.  
  
* * * *  
  
I woke in the morning to the smell of fresh bacon, eggs and pancakes wafting up from the kitchen. I hated eggs, but bacon and pancakes I loved, especially with hash browns. I jumped out of bed and opened my windows. I took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled, looking around the yard. I saw the barn and my mind wandered back to the events of the night before.  
  
"Oh well." I said to myself. "Those braids were kind of pretty." I looked over at the pond, barn, and the tool shed. That caught my eye. The door was slightly ajar, and something could be seen moving through the small square windows. Jessica's son, only him. I thought. I tied on my bright yellow bath robe, and looked in the mirror. Everyone was right, I did look like my father. With my tanned skin and tiny features outlined in a mantle of long auburn hair. My green eyes sparkled in the morning sun. I looked away smiling and put on my slippers. I bounded down the stairs, humming to myself, and rushed into the kitchen. The breakfast table was laden with food. I sat and filled my plate and began eating without a word. Finally I put my fork down and said,  
  
"Good morning!"  
  
"Good morning. You must be hungry. And happy, you were humming."  
  
"Yes, very happy. This place is so much better than the city. But I still don't think I shall sing for a while yet." Ma lifted a pan off the wood stove and dropped a couple more pancakes onto the plate in the middle of the table.  
  
'Eat up, today we have chores to do. We have to learn how to run a farm. We can not count on Jessica and Thackerie to help us forever."  
  
"Speaking of which." I said, " Why is there so much food left? Haven't they eaten?"  
  
"Oh no. I am not expecting them for another half hour or so." I stopped in mid chew and let go of my fork. It clattered down and hit my plate, then fell to the floor. I swallowed and jumped up. "The shed!!" I yelled. Ma stood, staring at me surprised. She gave me a questioning glance, then followed me as I raced out into the yard. I kicked my slippers off to the side and didn't bother to tie my bathrobe as it flew open, revealing my nightgown. I ran to the shed and threw the door open. A little red fox darted out and between my legs. Laughter. I looked up and braced myself for what was to come.  
  
The shed was a mess. Shears, rakes, hammers, all the tools were strewn everywhere. The work benches were tipped over, and on the wooden shelf running the top length of the walls, a rainbow of paint streamed down in reds, oranges, yellows, blues, greens, purples, blacks, browns, and whites from cans that had been pried open and tipped over. Laughter. More laughter. I stood staring for a moment till out of nowhere a voice said,  
  
"May I help you Ma'am?" I jumped and spun around, coming face to face with the most handsome boy my age I had ever seen. He had hair cut into a stylish short trim with wild bangs that he constantly brushed out of hie eyes. His blue eyes sparkled and danced, smiling mysteriously. He wore a pair of light brown trousers, tucked into high black boots. His suspenders where lose hanging back around his waist and his this white cotton shirt was tucked in neatly.  
  
"I'm sorry." He said, "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Thackerie," He smiled, a friendly smile. He had dimples.  
  
I held up my hand and he kissed it lightly. I blushed, realizing suddenly how silly I must have looked, standing there with my bare feet, and bath robe flung about me, my hair tousled from sleep and wind. I swiftly tied my robe and brushed my fingers throw my hair. I tucked my toes in, hoping he wouldn't notice.  
  
Ma ran up and looked in the shed. Her breath was heavy and I barely heard her say, "What...happened?" She looked at me questioningly, her brows knitted in confusion. I confessed to seeing the barn doors open and thinking it was Thackerie.  
  
"It obviously wasn't." I finished, nodding to Thackerie and Jessica who had only just arrived a moment after I went out to the shed.  
  
"Who could it be?' ma asked puzzled.  
  
"Maybe it was the fai..." I began, Jessica cleared her throat loudly and shook he head 'no'. "A farm boy looking for mischief." I finished quickly. Tinkling laughter.  
  
"Well whomever it was, they're gone now. Come inside everyone." ma said heading for the house, "Breakfast first, then Thackerie and Breanna, you two can clean up the shed." Thackeray nodded then turned to me and smiled. Dimples. I felt my face grow hot. I picked up my slippers and tugged them on quickly, as I rushed past him and into the house.  
  
* * * *  
  
"So," Thackerie said, "tell me a bit about yourself." We were in the shed, Thackerie scraping paint off the shelves while I organized the tools and righted the benches. I looked up surprised when he said it.  
  
"Isn't it customary for the gentlemen to introduce himself first?" I said teasing.  
  
"Well I am hardly a gentlemen, but very well, what would you like to know?"  
  
"Hmm...anything."  
  
"Alright. I am 15 years old and I live in a little farm house about an hour into the woods. I enjoy hunting and fishing, anything sporty."  
  
"Archery?"  
  
"Oh yes, very mush so, you?"  
  
"Oh I love it! So, what about your family?"  
  
"Well, you've met my ma, my pa is away in hiding right now. I should not be telling you this, but about a year ago, my pa's leg was crushed under a tree when we were hunting in a storm. He got drafted, but we knew he would die if he had to fight with his leg, so he went into hiding. Even I do not know where he is."  
  
"Why were you hunting during a storm in the first place? What were you hunting for?"  
  
"My little brother."  
  
"Beg pardon?"  
  
"I have six other brothers and sisters, there are seven of us, but it used to be an even eight. Until Jeremy disappeared. He loved the forest. He used to take long walks in there all the time. Since he was only eight, my parents did not approve, so he would sneak away in secret.  
  
I guess I was his favorite brother, cause every time he left, he'd tell me, and when he returned, he would tell me stories of what he saw and found. He claimed he saw animals that could turn into a strange kind of people. He saw little men with leaves for hair and twigs for fingers. He called them...fairies."  
  
I gasped. Quickly stopping myself I smiled and said, "Continue," He eyed me strangely for a moment, then picked up on his story.  
  
"One day he came home white as a ghost. He said he watched the fairies dance, and they caught him. They chased him through the forest, because as a law, all who see them must trade something dear to them, or become on of the fairies. He told me that when he ran, he was pierced in the back with a fairy dart. He showed me the spot on his back. A tiny pin prick, but very red. He, he told me he was scared.  
  
As the days passed, the pin prick grew as the faerie poison seeped into him. He slipped into a trance and babbled only of going to the fairies. I held him in his room, not letting him escape. Day be day, the spot grew till it covered his whole back in red pinpricks. He started to change. His hair became green and corse, and he became thin, small and pale. He got stronger and meaner, but looked weak and frail. He refused to eat. He looked like an old man, all wrinkled and sickly, he no longer was my brother.  
  
Things started happening on the farm too. For every day we held him, a cow's milk would became curdled, or a chicken or a pig would go missing. Once in the night, on of them came and cut all my sister Angelica's hair off. Finally, one evening, the woods were filled with a strange tune, like many pipes playing at once. My brother, or rather, the 'thing' that held my brother, became enraged and dangerous. We bombarded him in his room, but he broke the window and fled into the woods. He was never found. But every time we said his name, a laughter, like the tinkling of little bells, would fill the house, and something would happen. Like we'd find the animal's hair all braided, or a mess would be made somewhere. I often go into the woods to look for him again, but I see no fairies, nore to I see Jeremy."  
  
A dark shadow fell over his face and he bowed his head. I placed my hand on his shoulder and told him of the horse's braids, the tool shed, and what his mother had told me.  
  
"Perhaps I could help you look for your brother one day?" I suggested quietly, "Although I have nothing but my voice to give for payment, I could try." He turned and grabbed my shoulders tightly. Looking straight into my eyes he said,  
  
"Don't you ever go into that forest Breanna. I will not lose you. Promise me you will not go in there. Promise!"  
  
"I promise." I whispered. Behind my back, I crossed my fingers.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Ma, where is Thackerie?" It had been three months since my promise to Thackerie. Things went on as normal, there were constant surprises and mischief caused by, well, you know who. We were used to it now.  
  
"Jeremy disappeared 3 years ago today." Jessica said sadly, "Thackerie is probably in the forest, he goes every year, trying to find his brother."  
  
I nodded in understanding and continued brushing Braid. That was the name I decided on for my name I decided on for my mare. Jessica was laying down new hay while Ma filled the water troths. Even Jessica seemed sad and far away.  
  
"Jessica." I said, putting down my brush. "Why don't you head home? I'll finish off the chores."  
  
"Are you sure Breanna?"  
  
"Yes, you go." She gave me a weak smile and said, "Thank you child." She set down the pitchfork and gave me a pat on the shoulder. I picked up the brush and continued to polish Braids. She stood chewing her bag of oats quietly. I got about halfway done when she suddenly started whinnying and prancing around. I dropped the brush and moved back to keep from getting trampled, grabbing at her reins. I stroked her mane lightly and spoke to her softly. When I calmed her down, I looked in front of her to see why she was acting up.  
  
A fox. A tiny fox sat in the hay in front of her legs. It stood staring. For an instant it seemed to change into a tiny girl with a fox's tail and nose, then laughed and ran quickly away, out of the barn. Braid pranced for a bit more, I started singing to her lightly. She calmed and went back to her oats. I finished my shores and went into the house in time for dinner.  
  
"Where did Jessica go?" Ma said as I came in.  
  
"I told her to go home, considering the circumstances." Ma nodded and put a plate of peas on the table.  
  
"I heard you out in the barn earlier. I went out to ask you about Jessica and I heard you singing to Braid." I thought back to the barn, I had been singing.  
  
"I suppose I was." I said quietly.  
  
"You haven't sang in so long. Not since, " she cut short.  
  
"Since Pa died." I finished. She nodded and poked at her peas. We ate in silence, then I went up to my room and sat by my window. I opened my locket and looked at Maria and Cynthia. The tune played lightly. All of a sudden their pictures changed. Their faces turned dark and shadowed, their smiles turned into sneers. I let out a startled squeak and pulled off the necklace, flinging it across the room. It hit the wall and fell, open, onto the thick carpet. The faces were normal again, but I was too scared and shaken to pick it up.  
  
I must have fallen asleep by the window, because when I woke up the summer sky was dotted with stars. I remembered what had happened with the locket. It was sitting were it had been, open. I turned back to the window and listened to the waves crash against the cliff down below. I heard a creak, like someone walking over the floor. I turned my head quickly and looked over to where the necklace was. It had disappeared, and I looked up jut in time to see something run out of my room.  
  
"Hey!" I jumped up and chased it out on the over hang by the stairs. Laughter. I followed the thing down the stairs and into the hall. The door was open and I rushed to it. The locket was sitting on the doorstep, but I wasn't looking at the locket. I was looking past it, across the road, at the forest edge.  
  
Someone was walking out of the forest, slowly, trance-like. I stood watching the zombie person. They looked familiar. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to me. His face was drawn and pale, his eyes glossy. He looked familiar. I stepped forward and studied him closer from the front steps. He looked like a ghost. He looked like...  
  
"Thackerie?!"  
  
* * * *  
  
"Breanna? Breanna wake up!"  
  
"Hmm? Ma?" I sat up slowly, my head felt sore and heavy. I was lying on the floor by the from door, which was swung wide open. My locket lay on the step in the sun.  
  
"Sweetie what happened? Did you sleep walk?" I stood slowly and retrieved my necklace. I stood for a moment, trying to remember.  
  
"No, no I didn't. I fainted I think...wait! Where's Thackerie and Jessica?" Ma stared at me, surprised.  
  
"They're at home. Jessica came to say she could not come, Thackerie is very sick. That's how I found out you wee laying on the steps, Jessica helped my pull you back into the house."  
  
"Thackerie? Sick? No, no!" I ran to my room and dressed quickly then raced into the backyard and saddled Braid. I mounted her just as Ma ran up.  
  
"Young lady, what is going on?!" She hollered.  
  
"I cannot explain now. I must go to Thackerie." I galloped past her and out of the barn, ignoring her pleas for me ti stop. I raced through the woods at full speed. Foam dripped from Braid's mouth and ,y dress and face were scratched and ripped by branches. I did not care, I had to get to him. Finally, a small farm house appeared up ahead. A boy, about 10 years of age, stood in the front chopping logs, while a small girl played with a doll in the grass. I pulled the mare to a halt in front of the boy. He looked up at me, startled, and dropped the axe in the grass.  
"Thackerie." I managed to pant. The boy pointed a shaky finger to the house. I jumped off Braid and raced in through the small screen door . The house opened into a kitchen where two girls stood at a table making bread. They stopped and stared at me as I ran in. One wiped her hands on her apron and approached me slowly. She was a smaller thinner version on Jessica, with a kindly face.  
  
"May I help you?" she asked puzzled. I nodded and replied,  
  
"Forgive me for surprising you, but I must see Thackerie." Her smile faded and her face clouded.  
  
"He, he's upstairs." She mumbled on the verge of tears. I crossed the room swiftly and bounded up the stairs. I came to a hall with many doors, all of which were open. Except one. The second to last door was shut tight. I knocked lightly and heard Jessica say,  
  
"Come in." When I entered she frowned and stood quickly. Her face was drawn and tired, like she hadn't slept. Her hair and clothes were wrinkled and tousled carelessly.  
  
"Breanna, I really don't think..." I walked past her towards the large oak bed against the wall. The figure in it was thin, shriveled and pale. He slept noisily, wheezing and coughing. He did not tir. One shoulder of his shirt was ripped, and I could see a tiny pinprick glaring at me from deep in his skin.  
  
"He, he saw them, didn't he? They're trying to take him, like they took Jeremy." Jessica nodded sadly from behind me. I sat on the side of the bed and took his hand. With my other hand I lightly brushed his bangs away from his eyes. As I sat, staring into his sickly face, a rage that I could not contain came over me like a wave hitting a beach. I heard footsteps in the hall, and Ma entered, panting loudly. Jessica explained his condition to her, and when she finished, Ma came to ma and said,  
  
"There is nothing to be done. He is lost." I looked up and glared at my mother.  
  
"How would you know?" I snapped, "You don't even believe in them!"  
  
"I do not believe because I do not wish to believe. But I did, and I know." I stared at her, completely bewildered. She continued.  
  
"Your Pa bought the house we live in now because it was my old house, I grew up there. When I was three, my baby sister was stolen by the fairies. I followed then into the woods, and say them change he. There was nothing I could do. I had nothing to offer to save her. So I fled. I left the farm, ran away to the city when I was old enough. I ran from my sister, from them. Once they take a person, they're gone. There is nothing we can do. Nothing you can do either."  
  
I sat in silence, the rage building inside me. I stood quickly, letting go of Thackerie's thin, bony hand.  
  
"They shall not have him."  
  
* *  
* *  
  
I pulled on the thick wool shawl Ma gave me, my pockets filled with apples and cookies that Thackerie's little sister Angelica gave me. I needed my own food. I waved goodbye and started on my way. For hours I trudged through the trees, brambles clung to my clothes and hair. I walked until I reached a small hill, bare in the moonlight. I stood on top, looking around to see where I was.  
  
I river ran like a silver snake through the trees, and I remembered Ma's directions,  
  
"Through the trees, over the hill, past the river and to the glen." I ran down the hill to where the river led steadily through the trees. I pulled off my boots and stockings and trudged through the ankle deep thick water. I felt things in the mud squirming in between my toes. It sliced through my skin like ice. When I reached the other side I wiped the thick mud off my feet and pulled my boots back on. I didn't bother with my stockings, something I regretted later because as I tracked through the brush, looking for the glen, blisters appeared and sent shots of pain up my legs as I stumbled through the trees, which were rapidly getting thicker and more menacing.  
  
Finally, I heard in front of me, the sound of song and laughter and may dancing feet. I fell to my knees and crawled up behind a log, watching. It was so beautiful. Creatures of all shapes and sizes were gathered in a ring in the middle of the glen. Children half animal, and women with leaves for hair an branches for arms. Dryads they were called. Nymphs, fawns, fairies, so many creatures I couldn't name or recognized, where dancing in the moonlight.  
  
I heard a rustling of leaves behind me, and before I could hide, a group of little girls, with fox ears and tails and noses, grabbed me and, giggling, pulled me into the center of the circle.  
  
"A human! A human!" They pointed and clapped, pulling at my hair and dress. A tall thin women walked up and stood before me. She had long white hair and a beautiful face. She wore a long white dress that shimmered in the moonlight. Like a thousand crystals, it sent rainbows across the grass.  
  
"Why have you came?" She asked sternly. Her voice was soft and barely audible, like the wind through the trees. I stood and faced her, acting brave though my heart had bounced up into my throat.  
  
"I have come to release Thackerie, and bring home his little brother Jeremy." The women's eyes grew wide and she gave a half smile.  
  
"Jeremy!" She turned and called. A young boy, about 10 or 11 years old, with blond hair and bright blue eyes, walked out of the ring. The women placed her arm around his small shoulders while he cuddled into her side and stared at me innocently. She turned back to me, and evil small on her face.  
  
"Now. Why, do you think, would I give up my son?" I stared at her in surprise. My mouth went dry and I felt sick.  
  
"Your son?"  
  
"Yes. He came to us. I adopted him. He belongs to me."  
  
"No! He is Jessica's!"  
  
"No!" She snapped, enraged, " They abandoned him, left him to stray into the woods. They do not love him."  
  
"They do! That is why Thackerie was here yesterday! He always comes to find his brother, and now you've taken him too! Must you have both?" She chocked an eyebrow and said,  
  
"Must you?"  
  
I fell silent. She stared me down for a moment, everything was quiet. She smiled slyly.  
  
"Now." She said, "let us negotiate."  
  
"Negotiate?" I replied, sounding like I was younger than Jeremy.  
  
"Well, you do not believe you would get him without a price, did you?" She paused. "Unless, of course." The women continued, "We let Jeremy choose? Jeremy." She coed, "Would you like to go with this girl?" The boy whimpered and clung tighter. I frowned and said hesitantly,  
  
"What kind of payment do you want?"  
  
"What have you got?"  
  
"Only...my voice."  
  
A great thunderous laughter erupted from the circle. The women laughed and said,  
"Very well. This shall be quite interesting." She clapped her hands and stepped back. A tiny girl, hardly taller than my knee, walked up slowly. She had light green hair and her face was thin and pale. Her grey eyes stared uncertainly at the world.  
  
"This," The women said from behind the tiny child, "is Posy. The best singer in the glen. You will sing your best until dawn, you can not stop. If you sing a song Posy knows, she will sing along, You must continue like this until you sing a song that is unknown to Posy. If you do so, you will get Jeremy and we will release Thackerie. If you lose, we take both Jeremy and Alex and...you. Is it a deal?" I looked at Posy. It would be easy to beat such a mouse of a child. I nodded and shook the women's outstretched hand. She smiled and walked to the outer ring of the circle, Jeremy trailing behind her. She clapped her hands twice, then bellowed,  
  
"Begin!" I started singing the first song that came to my head, 'O Susanna.' Posy joined in on the second line, her voice belting out thick rich notes, which seemed uncapable for a girl her size and appearance. My voice sounded small and off key compared to hers. I faltered many times, each time a loud cheer went up from the assembly. I sang all the songs I knew. Opera, ballads, hymns. All the while Posy Sung, matching every one. While I sung, the creatures taunted and teased me, the foxgirls nibbled on my feet and I had to dodge numerous darts and rocks. Once a hagish looking women thought it would be funny to watch me dance while I sung, and sent bolts of fire at my feet from her fingers.  
  
My voice cracked and faltered as I sang, my throat became raw and dry as I struggled through my memory for songs. I even made up a few but Posy matched the tune and choruses perfectly after listening for a few moments and getting the beat and the style. The world turned light as the sun began to rise. I stared at the sneering faces of the circle closing in around me, and I realized I was going to lose. I searched my mind frantically for a song, any song. Finally, I remembered one. Ma used to sing it to me when I was a baby. I cleared my throat and belted out confidently,  
  
"Through the trees  
Over the hill,  
Past the  
river to the glen,  
Is a world of pure enchantment,  
Untouched by men.  
  
The road is dark and treacherous  
But together we shall find,  
The land of moonlight  
Where the forest creatures are wise.  
  
Bring a gift, sing and dance  
But you must keep this in mind,  
Be gone from their world,  
Fore the sun begins to rise.  
  
And weather you stay  
Or weather you go,  
You can never forget.  
That clearing in the forest  
Where man and fantasy met.  
  
All was silent. Posy glared at me menacingly, she had not sung. I smiled and watched the sun rise as one by one, they disappeared. Some ran into the cover of the trees, others seemed to materialize into the landscape, until finally it was only Jeremy and I standing in the glen, as the sun shone down on a little bag of powder, sitting where the little singer had been.  
  
* * * *  
  
I broke through the trees, Jeremy clinging to one hand, the other hand wrapped around the bag of powder. Thackerie's sister sat in the grass playing like she had been the day before. When she saw me she dropped her doll and ran up, hugging Jeremy tightly. The boy, who hadn't said or done anything since I won him, let go of my hand and hugged his sister, crying happily. The little girl let go and ran into the house yelling, "Mama! Mama! Breanna's back! Mama!" Six more siblings came out to hug and welcome Jeremy home. Ma and Jessica followed, ma cried and hugged me tightly.  
  
"Oh thank you!" Jessica cried. "You brought him home."  
  
"I've brought more than that." I said happily, holding up the tiny pouch. Jessica saw it and her smile faded.  
  
"I'm afraid that will not help now." She said sadly, "He has slipped away. He, he is past all hope."  
  
"What do you mean? This is a powder from the fairies to free him. Of course it will help!" She shook her head.  
  
"No Breanna. Their spell on him was too strong, much stronger than the one that was on Jeremy. He died." I the blood drain from my face. Tears stung he back of my eyes like daggers, like darts.  
  
"No, no. No!" I shoved past them and into the house. A cauldron of water was boiling on the fire for supper. I took a mug from the table and filled it with water, scorching my hand in the process. I ignored the pain as I emptied the pouch into the mug. The powder was green and sparkly, and sent up a puff of dust shaped like a butterfly when it hit the boiled water.  
  
I took the mug and bounded up the stairs two at a time. The door to Thackerie's room was wide open. He lay in the bed, eyes closed, whiter than his sheets. His skin was clammy, and cold.  
  
"Thackerie? Thackerie please no! Come back!" I fell to my knees beside the bed and tipped his head back. I poured in the hot drink slowly, blowing on it as not to burn him. When it was gone I sat ans felt his neck. Nothing.  
  
"Thackerie wake up! You have to wake up !" Tears streamed down my cheeks. "I love you." I stared into his blank face, Crying hysterically. I buried my face in his chest. Ma came up and put her hand on my head.  
  
"I know it hurts, but there's nothing we could have done." I smacked her hand away bitterly, still crying. I did not want pity, I wanted him. I heard Ma leave and all of a sudden felt bad for lashing out at her. I knelt there for what seemed like hours when I felt a hand on my head again. I sat up and turned around,  
  
"Ma can't you jus..." She wasn't behind me. I turned back to where Thackerie lay,\ and saw him staring over at me, wide and awake. His face and complexion, everything was back to normal. HE smiled at me, his big goofy grin.  
  
"Thackerie, you're alive!" He nodded and smiled.  
  
"I should hope so. But how did you..."  
  
"I went into the woods, to make them release you." His smile faded.  
  
"Breanna, you promised me." His voice drifted off as Jeremy bounded into the room and onto the bed, hugging Thackerie and gabbing a mile a minute.  
  
"Jeremy you're back!" He exclaimed, hugging his brother tightly. I walked out slowly, unnoticed, and sneaked out to the back porch. I sat for a while, just thinking about all that had happened.  
  
Off in the distance, I heard a Tiny voice singing. It was Posy. As I listened, a small group of foxes burst through the trees and up to where I sat. They turned into girls and handed me a crown of posies. I place them on my head and walked into the middle of the yard. There, I began to dance. The foxes made a circle around me, and they spun as I danced. I dance for love and happiness, for my family and for Thackerie. And, as I did this, I began to sing with Posy,  
  
"Through the trees  
Over the hill,  
Past the river to the glen,  
Is a world of pure enchantment  
Untouched by men...  
  
THE END 


End file.
